Carpetbagger
The title of this article is ambiguous. For the American operation in World War II, see Operation Carpetbagger.
Carpetbagger was a derogatory term for Northerners who came to the defeated South after the War of Secession, especially during the period known as Reconstruction, when the Southern states were reintegrated into the United States and slavery, which had previously been legal here, was abolished, a period that was politically strongly characterized by the influence of the central government in Washington and the Northern leaders here. Many Southerners accused the Northerners now coming to the South of base motives, namely, of wanting to enrich themselves as profiteers from his defeat of the people and economy of the South. The term refers to this accusation by suggesting that the newcomers from the Northern states were exploiting the South and lining their pockets with its riches (or: they came with nothing but a carpetbag and their idealism). These bags were then made of carpet-like fabrics and were called carpet bags.
The term refers to Northerners in general, but is primarily related to a widespread sense of political paternalism. Because many leadership positions became vacant in the South after the defeat of the Confederacy, many fortune-seekers actually managed to become mayors or even governors with Washington's blessing. At the same time, many white Southerners, as well as supporters of the Democratic Party and White Supremacy, justified, for example, the racist terror of the Ku Klux Klan, arguing that it was an understandable reaction to Republican Southern politics and the Carpetbaggers.
Southerners who supported the Republicans, on the other hand, were called Scalawags.
In modern usage, the term often refers to a politician who moves to another state to increase his or her electoral and career opportunities.
Carpetbag around 1860
Caricature of Carl Schurz as Carpetbagger, Thomas Nast 1872
Questions and Answers
Q: What is a carpetbagger?
A: A carpetbagger was a northerner who moved to the South after the American Civil War.
Q: When did carpetbaggers move to the South?
A: Carpetbaggers moved to the South during the reconstruction era.
Q: How were carpetbaggers viewed by white southerners?
A: White southerners feared that carpetbaggers would loot the defeated South.
Q: How many carpetbaggers were elected to Congress?
A: Sixty carpetbaggers were elected to Congress.
Q: What policies did carpetbaggers generally support?
A: Carpetbaggers generally supported measures aimed at democratizing and modernizing the South, including civil rights legislation, aid to economic development, and the establishment of public school systems.
Q: Why were carpetbaggers called "carpetbaggers"?
A: Carpetbaggers were called "carpetbaggers" because they carried cheap carpet bags (a form of luggage).
Q: What is the modern usage of the term "carpetbagger"?
A: The modern usage of the term "carpetbagger" refers to a political candidate for public office in an area far from home, also known as a "parachute candidate."
